


A Husband Can Worry, Okay?

by tnh1722



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Caring Magnus Bane, Cute family dynamics, Everyone has a doctorate, M/M, Malec Fluff, Sick Alec Lightwood, This got more angsty than I originally anticipated but its good angst I think
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-04
Updated: 2018-11-09
Packaged: 2019-07-25 05:43:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16191260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tnh1722/pseuds/tnh1722
Summary: Alec has been sick for a few days and Magnus is worried. Some things in the past give him reason to worry more than he typically would.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> It's really not as intense as the summary seems. This is really just an idea that came to me that ended up being longer and fluffier than I intended, but I am totally okay with it. 
> 
> Depending on the feedback to this, I may extend this universe because I think it is clear now that I only write AUs and I can't seem to put the down after one story lol.

Magnus shuffled into his office lacking all his typical luster. He was considerably dressed down in comparison to his normal attire and he had a permanent worry line in his forehead. He threw down his briefcase and took a long sip of his tea while massaging his temple. 

“Well, if you aren’t the embodiment of sunshine today?” Ragnor quipped as he came in holding a few files. 

“Remind me why I opened a practice with you again?” Magnus cut back as he leaned back in his chair with his head tilted towards the ceiling. Magnus had opened a private psychiatry office with Ragnor and Tessa right out of medical school. Ragnor focused in adult and elderly mental health, Tessa provided family and marriage counseling while Magnus specialized in childhood trauma and LGBTQ+ support.

Before Ragnor could reply, Tessa strode into the office beside Magnus’ desk and set a muffin down. “Because you wanted to go into the field with me and we couldn’t leave our little cabbage behind,” she offered with a smile. 

“This truly is the worst work environment,” Ragnor pouted as he sat down in one of the client chairs. “So, do you want to talk about how you are feeling?” 

Tessa and Magnus both looked at him before all three burst out laughing. “I can’t believe you just went with the cliché therapist line,” Magnus chuckled as he scooted his chair up to start eating his muffin. 

“Honestly though, what’s got you down? I can’t remember the last time I saw you without a full face of makeup at work,” Tessa said with a hint of concern. 

“You know how I mentioned that Alexander has been sick all this week?” Magnus asked and waited for them both to nod in return. “Well, my dear husband has progressively gotten worse all week and is adamant that I don’t need to take care of him or take him to the doctor.” 

“For being one of the most intelligent people I’ve ever met, Alec can be an idiot sometimes,” Tessa responded jokingly. Alec was a professor of sociology at NYU focusing in civil rights and gender studies. He taught a three semester series of LGBTQ+ history with a self-written textbook and had been a guest professor at universities all over America and internationally. 

Magnus rolled his eyes and nodded in agreement. “He keeps saying he’s fine and it will pass, but last night, a fever started and this morning he wouldn’t even eat. It took me twenty minutes and a threat to call Catarina and Isabelle over to get him to have his graduate assistant cover for him today. He can’t even get out of bed.”

“Well, why don’t you just go home? You only have two patients today that we can easily reschedule. You can be as equally as stubborn as your husband, believe me, I’ve seen it,” Ragnor suggested with a wave of his hand. 

“I thought of that myself this morning, but both my patients are in the morning so I’m going to head out at lunch. He told me not to take the day off, but he said no such thing of a half day,” Magnus replied with a smile as he moved to finish his muffin and tea. 

“I can’t wait to hear how Alec responds to that,” Ragnor whipsered to Tessa which awarded him with a balled-up napkin to the face from Magnus. 

“Alright you two, enough gossip, some of us have patients to care for,” Magnus announced as he waved them out of his office. 

\---

Magnus’ phone continued to light up on his desk even though it was on silent. He didn’t look over to see the name on the screen as he was still finishing up with his patient, but the continuous calls did start to worry him. 

“Dr. Bane, you seem kind of distracted today,” the teenager suddenly stated as Magnus halted his writing for what seemed like the hundredth time. 

“I apologize, Raj. My husband is ill and I keep receiving phone calls which I assume are coming from him. I promise I will be more focused,” Magnus replied in his most professional tone. He fixed his stack of papers and went to ask another question only to be cut off. 

“It’s okay if we cut it short, Dr. B, really. We went over the past three weeks and you even stayed late last Thursday. You should go, you’re obviously worried,” his patient, Raj offered. 

Magnus considered it for a moment before replying. “Are you sure? I don’t mind, really. He will be fine for another twenty minutes.”

“No, seriously, it’s cool. I’m good this week, things have been a lot better with my mom and I finally signed up for the Pride group at my school. It’s the best week I’ve had in awhile.” Raj gave him a genuine, thankful smile. 

“That’s tremendous, Raj, seriously. You have come so far in the past few months. And I truly appreciate this. We can do a double next week, the second hour is on me.” Magnus gave the smile right back as he started packing up his things. 

Raj got up and went to shake his hand in agreement. “Sounds great, Dr. B. Thanks again, I’ll see you next week.” 

With the click of his door, he moved as quick as possible to clean up his desk and file his case note on Raj before locking up his office. He dropped by both Tessa and Ragnor’s offices letting them know that he was going home before he basically ran out to his car to head home. 

On his drive, he contemplated calling his husband to check in, but he decided that he could wait the thirty minute commute time and settled for calling Isabelle instead. 

“Hey Mags, how’s Alec doing?” Izzy said as soon as she picked up. Magnus’ lips flinched up into a smile as he heard the concern in her question over his bluetooth in his car. 

“Honestly, Isabelle, even worse today. When I left this morning, I couldn’t even coax him out of bed for pancakes and he agreed to let Lydia teach his classes for him today,” Magnus replied with enough calm in his voice not to entirely worry Alec’s sister who was a professor of biology and anatomy alongside her brother at NYU. 

He heard her quick inhale on the other end. “Wow, he really is sick. I don’t know if he has missed a full day of classes since he started teaching, in all honesty, that’s probably why they offered him tenure already. I mean, who else gets offered tenure at 30 years old?” 

Magnus considered pulling the car over as he might pass out. “T-Tenure? What...when?”

“Damn it…” Izzy whispered. “Mags, you can’t say anything! I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have...ugh, Alec is going to kill me.” 

“Isabelle.”

“Okay, okay...at our all faculty meeting on Monday, the Dean announced all professors who would be offered tenure this year. There were two old dudes in chemistry, the ancient woman from the theater program, and Alec. It was a shitshow. All the older professors freaked out saying he was too young and didn’t deserve it yet and all the younger people, especially our circle, were ecstatic. And you know my brother, he just politely gave his diplomatic thank you to the board of trustees and sat back down, no emotions or to-do or anything. I couldn’t even get him to go out for coffee afterwards, but I figured he would have told you. Please don’t hold this against him, he probably doesn’t think he deserves it or something stupid.”

Magnus wanted to be angry, he really did. He is Alec’s husband, he should have been the first to know outside of the meeting, but as he thinks about it and Isabelle’s words, he doubts anyone outside of the meeting actually knows, from Alec’s mouth anyway. “Oh, Isabelle, sometimes that man gives me chest pains. Between the sickness and now this news of tenure, he’s going to kill us both.”

Izzy laughs loudly through the phone. “Tell me about, I’ve had to deal with him 20 years longer than you. I will say that you have made it a tiny bit easier on me. Thanks for that.”

“Oh, of course, Isabelle. I live to serve,” Magnus quipped sarcastically with a smile. “Truthfully though, Iz, I’m worried about him this week. I’ve seen his exhaustion sickness when he throws himself into research and I’ve seen him with the flu, but this is different. I mean, it’s more like he is pain than sick. I see the look on his face every time he moves and he has been curled up in a ball in bed all week.”

“This is only a thought and it could be a number of things, but it could be kidney stones or ulcers. A lot of people get them from stress and if anyone knows how to stress, it’s my big brother,” Izzy offered. 

Magnus sighed realizing his sister-in-law was probably right. “Thank you, Isabelle, I’ll ask for his full symptoms and talk to you once I’m home. I’ll keep you updated on him throughout the night. If it gets worse tonight, I’ll call Catarina and see what she thinks. I can’t stand to see him like this much longer.” 

“If you two need anything, let me know,” Izzy said before they exchanged goodbyes. Magnus pulled the car into park in their parking garage and headed for the loft.


	2. Chapter 2

Magnus opened the front door to the loft and was immediately met with Chairman Meow and Church which was definitely odd. If Alec was home, Church was always with him especially if he was in bed. “Alexander?” he called out. 

“Mags…” Alec’s voice whimpered from their ensuite bathroom. Magnus found Alec in front of the toilet vomiting out the little liquid he had in his stomach. His pain was clearly higher from earlier this morning and his nausea had shifted to throwing up in only a few hours. 

“Oh sweetheart,” Magnus said as he knelt beside his husband, tenure was the farthest thing from his mind at this moment. Alec was burning up and he was shaking slightly, the sheen of sweat on his face making his fever even more evident. 

Alec breathed out a exhale that took too much effort as he held his side. “Mags, you have to take me to the hospital. Something is not right.”

Magnus was taken aback as Alec is never one to outright admit that he needs help, particularly medical reasons. “Alright, I’m sure everything is fine. Let’s get you changed and to the car, okay?” 

Alec just nodded and let Magnus guide him to the bedroom. “Is Cat working today?”

“I can call her on the way, darling,” Magnus replied as he went to change Alec’s shirt. He noticed that Alec was swaying on his feet so he sat him down gently on his vanity bench. “You can keep those sweats on and I’ll get you a hoodie.”

Alec nodded again and waited for Magnus to return from the closet who had also quickly changed into more casual jeans and a t-shirt. Magnus pulled the hoodie over Alec’s head and moved to pack a few things in his bag in case they spend the day at the hospital. He threw both of their bedside books into his bag as well as a phone charger, a deck of cards, and his iPad. 

Alec gasped and grabbed his side again with a clear wince of pain. Magnus paced over to him and helped him up. “Okay baby, come on.” 

The walk to the car was dreadfully long as Alec had to take two breaks to let a wave a nausea pass and was walking three times slower than his typical long strides. Once in the car, Magnus called Catarina right away. Not only was Cat a close friend to both of them and Ragnor’s wife, but she was also a trauma physician at Mount Sinai hospital in Brooklyn. 

“Magnus, I don’t have much time to talk. My break is in an hour though,” Cat let out as soon as she answered. 

“Actually, dear, that’s all I needed to know. I’m on my way to you right now with Alexander. He’s gotten considerably worse today and he was hoping to see you since it would make him as comfortable as possible,” Magnus relayed to her. Alec couldn’t help but smile at his husband’s words. Alec did not voice any of that specifically to Magnus, yet he knew exactly why Alec asked about Cat working today. 

“Oh, of course, I’ll keep a room for you open so he doesn’t have to sit in the waiting room. I’m sure if Alec is at the point of admitting he needs the emergency room then he is truly ill,” Cat responded, the concern obvious in her voice. 

Magnus felt relieved knowing their friend would be the one caring for Alec. “Thank you, Catarina. We will be there soon.” 

They exchanged goodbyes and Magnus sped up as traffic ahead of them cleared. Alec was hunched over in the front seat, one hand at his side and one hand holding his forehead. Magnus reached over and took Alec’s hand from his head into his own to rest on Alec’s thigh. After another ten minutes, Magnus parked outside of the hospital and led his husband inside. 

They were directed to the window where they checked in with a nurse who led them straight to one of the rooms. She helped Alec change into a gown and got him as comfortable as possible in the bed. “Dr. Loss ordered an abdominal scan and a blood panel so we are going to do that real quick while she is with another patient,” the nurse said as she finished entering Alec into the computer and taking his vitals, having to pause twice to let Alec throw up. 

“Sure, go ahead,” Alec groaned as he curled back onto his side while Magnus offered his hand back in support. The nurse set out everything to draw his blood and then stepped out to grab the ultrasound machine. She finished collecting the viles and recorded the scan results in the computer. She headed back out of the room and came back about five minutes later.

“Okay, based off of your vitals and your physical signs, we are going to start an IV to get some fluids in you. I’ll be quick, I promise.” Alec nodded and squeezed Magnus’ hand tighter when he felt the pinch in his hand. She finished taping up the tubing and then went to a cabinet in the corner of the room. “Alright, now, if you want I can give you some pain medication. Based off your high pain level, we can give you some morphine.”

“No,” Alec nearly yelled, “no morphine, no meds. I don’t want anything.” Alec was adamant that he would have no meds. He watched Max become a vegetable with all the morphine they pumped through him during the cancer treatments and he would refuse it until he was blue in the face. 

Magnus sat up more and rubbed his arm slowly. “Are you sure, darling? Not even some tylenol,” Magnus offered lightly. He knew Alec’s stance on medication since he sat with the Lightwoods through their family’s loss, but he wanted his husband to be a little more comfortable. 

The nurse smiled and nodded in agreement with Magnus. “The tylenol may help bring your fever down too. I can give you the smallest dose for now if you prefer.” Alec just nodded and let her add it to the IV since he didn’t trust himself to get tablets down. “Dr. Loss should only be a few minutes now. She will come in and talk through everything with you after she reviews your scan.” 

“Thank you so much,” Magnus replied with a smile before turning back to move from the chair beside Alec to sit next to him on the bed. He leaned closer to place a kiss on Alec’s forehead and held his hand tighter when Alec winced again from the pain in his side. “Thank you for taking the tylenol, baby. I know you don’t want medication, but I hate seeing you in pain.”

Alec leaned over to rest against Magnus’ chest. “I’m sorry, it just...I can’t take morphine,” Alec whispered, partly from pain, partly from emotion. 

“I know, Alexander. It’s okay, I’m not upset about that. I understand,” Magnus replied, holding him to his body and running his hand up and down Alec’s back. He heard Alec sigh, hopefully in relief. 

Catarina came in and smiled at the two men on the bed curled up together. “Good morning, how are my favorite guys doing?” 

Alec moved away from Magnus and winced as he laid back onto the bed. “I’ve been better, honestly,” Alec answered eliciting a laugh from the other two.

Cat put on some gloves and walked towards the bed, shooing Magnus off into a chair. “Well, at least you are being truthful. Let’s take a look and then I’ll review your scan.”

Alec nodded once again and moved from his side to his back to let Cat do her exam. She pressed around his abdomen until she got to his lower right side and Alec immediately flinched back onto his side and groaned in pain. “Exactly what I thought, let’s see those pictures of your belly.” 

“Cat, what do you think it is?” Magnus asked worriedly. Even though he would never admit it to Alec, he had been worried all week about it being something serious. Somewhere deep in his mind, he can’t help but think that this is how Max’s cancer started. Random consistent pains and growing fevers led to his diagnosis. 

“After looking at the scans, I am certain it’s appendicitis. Pretty severe too, another day and it would have ruptured. We are going to have to take Alec up to surgery within the next hour and he will be here at least one night, if not two,” Cat answered lightly. She wasn’t worried, she expressed how this is one of the simplest procedures that is done and Alec is incredibly healthy otherwise. She stepped out to get an OR booked and start his prep work. 

Magnus hopped back onto the bed and pressed another kiss into Alec’s hair. His hands were slightly shaking as he held Alec’s. “Mags, it’s okay. I’ll be just fine,” Alec whispered. 

“I know, darling. I was...just so worried,” Magnus confessed while resting their foreheads together. “I couldn’t help but think…”

“Max,” Alec finished for him. “I understand, it crossed my mind a few times, but I’m okay. Cat even said that I’m perfectly healthy besides this so relax, for me.” 

Cat re-entered and started explaining a few things while having Alec sign paperwork. “Alright, we are going to take Alec to pre-op. Magnus, you can sit with him until they move him to the OR. The procedure shouldn’t take more than an hour and he will be in recovery for two. We will put you in the surgical waiting room until you can see him. He can have visitors after he is settled in his room so why don’t you call family now so they can wait with you. I can call Ragnor too if you’d like.” 

“Thank you, Cat, could you call him? It would make me feel better knowing Magnus has people with him while he worries,” Alec answered with the best smile he could muster through the pain. 

Magnus looked at Alec with a mock glare. “Hey mister, a husband can worry, okay?” Alec smile grew a little while Cat laughed at them.

“Of course, I’ll call after we move you upstairs. Why don’t you call Isabelle on the way, Magnus?” Cat suggested as she started to move Alec to a wheelchair.


	3. Chapter 3

They were in pre-op for all of fifteen minutes before the surgeon came to take Alec to the operating room. Magnus was happy that Alec’s pain would be gone soon, but he was hoping his family would at least have time to arrive before they had to part. He followed as they rolled Alec’s bed down the hall to the farthest point he could go and pressed a kiss to Alec’s forehead before heading to the waiting room.

He set himself up in the corner away from the other waiting families and pulled out his book in an attempt to distract himself. He didn’t know how much time had passed, but it felt like hours alone. 

“You know, most people have to actually turn the pages to read them?” Jace’s voice startled Magnus to where the book almost fell from his lap. 

Clary smacked Jace on the arm. “Hey, be nice. You’d be the same way if it were me in surgery.” 

Jace smiled apologetically, “Sorry bro.” He walked over to pat Magnus on the shoulder as Isabelle sat beside Magnus and threw his arm around him. 

“How are you?” Izzy asked him sincerely as if it was just the two of them. Since he and Alec started dating, he found himself immediately in a tight friendship with Isabelle. 

“Oh you know, just stressed out of my mind all week and then I come home to have my husband, who never wants help with anything, asking me to take him to the hospital as soon as I walked in the door,” Magnus rattled out as he leaned farther into Izzy. 

He saw Maryse and Ragnor come into the waiting room talking with Catarina. Ragnor offered him a wave hello and a sympathetic smile knowing how worked up Magnus had been this morning, now clearly for a good reason. 

Maryse immediately sat at his other side and took his hand. “Cat says he is doing just fine,” his mother-in-law whispered to him. 

Magnus looked up expectantly at Catarina who continued from Maryse’s statement. “The procedure normally takes about 45 minutes and they finished Alec’s in 30. He’s already in recovery waiting for a room placement.” 

“Overachiever, in true Alec fashion,” Jace quipped bringing a warming laugh to their waiting crowd. A few more comments were exchanged before Cat continued her explanation.

“Now, just so you are not nervous when you see him because I know how you are,” Cat said as she pointed between Magnus and Maryse who ducked their heads with sheepish smiles. “He is on oxygen right now which is very common, some people’s system take longer to come out of anesthetic. Also, I looked in his chart and he was adamant with the nurses that he wanted no medication in recovery until he could make a decision when he woke up so he will probably still be in pain when he wakes.”

Izzy looked over at Magnus who shook his head slightly. “Why is he refusing meds? If he is in pain wouldn’t he want relief...oh…” Magnus nodded as Izzy realized the reasoning behind Alec’s decision. 

“I had to convince to even take tylenol down in the ER. He hates being here so much,” Magnus confessed as Maryse squeezed his hand tighter. A brief moment of silence passed before Cat spoke up again. 

Maryse moved slightly to try and hide her few stray tears as she wiped them away. “My poor boy,” she whispered. Magnus moved slightly to give her a hug. 

“Okay, I have to head back down and close out my shift. The recovery nurse will come let you know when he has been moved to his private room. They will probably start with just Magnus and let the visitors increase throughout the afternoon and evening.” Magnus nodded and gave her a grateful smile and a wave. 

“Thank you so much, Catarina,” Maryse said as Cat said her goodbyes. After another thirty minutes of conversation, a nurse came in asking for the Lightwood-Bane family. Magnus and the rest of the family stood as she addressed them saying that Magnus could come back and see him. He followed the nurse down the hall and thanked her before going in. 

Magnus had to stop for a second at the door seeing Alec lay in the hospital bed. He looked young and so similar to Max in that moment. His dark hair around his forehead, his skin paler than normal, tubes in his arms and nose. Magnus was broken from his thoughts when he saw Alec’s head turn slightly towards the door with a sliver of a smile thrown his way. 

He walked farther into the room to Alec’s bedside. “Hey there,” Magnus whispered as he sat on the left side of the bed, running his hand through Alec’s hair with one hand and holding onto Alec’s hand with the other. 

Alec swallowed thickly, more tired than painful. “Hi,” he replied as he let his head rest in Magnus cupped hand. He let his eyes close, but his smile was still there. 

“You feeling better, baby?” Magnus asked and waited for Alec’s small nod before kissing him on the lips. He got up for a second to grab Alec’s cup of water to hold in case he wanted it. 

“I’m sorry for worrying you so much.” Alec’s voice was soft and Magnus could tell he was exhausted, still in need of sleeping off the anesthetic. 

Magnus kissed his forehead and then his cheek. “All is forgiven, darling. Why don’t you rest and when you wake up, the rest of the family will be here, okay?” Alec nodded again as he was barely awake. “I love you, Alexander.”

“Love you too,” Alec mumbled before finally falling back asleep. Magnus watched him sleep for a few minutes before heading back to grab everyone else. Cat clearly pulled some strings and got them one of the nicer private rooms that had many couches and chairs to easily accomodate all of Alec’s visitors. 

On his way out, he was caught by Alec’s surgeon to discuss a few more things. The surgeon expressed how well the surgery had gone and how stable Alec stayed throughout the whole thing even though he had no medication to relax him. Magnus asked the one thing he knew Alec would ask as soon as he was coherent enough. “How long will he need to stay?” 

“Well, typically with this, all I am worried about is the incision healing and his ability to maintain himself at home. It’s clear that he has a support system so home care is fine. I want him to stay tonight for sure to monitor the wound and then I would say as soon as he can eat what we define as a meal and keep it down, I am happy to discharge him. We are probably looking at late tomorrow afternoon if all stays on track,” the surgeon answered while handing Magnus a few post-op papers to take with him. 

“Thank you, doctor. I appreciate it,” Magnus said as he turned to leave the nurse’s station to head back to the waiting room.


	4. Chapter 4

Magnus was swarmed by the Lightwood women as soon as he stepped back into the waiting room. “How is he?” “Is he in pain?” “Is he awake?” “Can we see him?” 

“Hey, hey, he’s okay, calm down,” Magnus said softly has he took both of their hands. “I know this is bringing up all kinds of bad memories, but he is okay. He was awake for a few minutes, he’s resting now. He didn’t seem like he was in too much pain, just exhausted. And yes, Cat got him a room with enough space for all of us so we can go see him.”

“Oh, thank God,” Maryse whispered as she kept Magnus’ hand while he led them down the hallway. Maryse and Isabelle stopped at the door when they saw him in the bed. It was striking how similar Alec and Max truly were in the that moment. When Max passed from leukemia at 17, he was tall, almost lanky but a muscular build with dark hair and pale skin, he could have been Alec’s younger twin. 

Izzy gasped slightly and felt a tear well up on her waterline. Alec was lying nearly flat on his back with an oxygen cannula in his nose, hooked up to a heart monitor, and had two IVs with fluid since he was dehydrated. He was looking paler than normal and her mind flashed back to Max laying in almost the exact same way. 

She was quickly held by Simon while Jace came up beside her. “Iz, it’s okay. It was just his appendix, the doctor said he’s doing great. He will be back to his normal, grumpy self in a few days,” Jace said comfortingly. 

“Excuse you, my husband is not grumpy,” Magnus cut back with a mock glare in attempt to lighten the mood. It seemed to work as it made Izzy giggle into Simon’s chest. Jace raised an eyebrow at Magnus who rolled his eyes. “Okay, maybe he is grumpy to you because you say stupid things.”

Before Jace could respond, Alec’s tired voice startled them from where they were in the doorway. “I’m going to be grumpy to all of you if you don’t shut up and let me sleep.” Alec rolled his head to the side to face the doorway with a small smile on his face. 

“See, Iz, he’s fine. They didn’t remove his attitude,” Jace deadpanned as he moved farther in to sit on the couch under the window after Izzy smacked him on the arm. 

Izzy and Maryse made their way over to the bed, one on each side. Maryse ran her hand through his hair while Izzy grabbed his hand and held it tight. Both had residual tears in their eyes as their minds were still heavy at thoughts of Max and of Alec being in pain. “Hey, no tears. I’m okay, just a little sore, no big deal,” Alec said to both of them. 

Maryse leaned in to kiss his forehead while Izzy just nodded in response. “Are you in pain, sweetheart?” Maryse asked while cupping Alec’s cheek. 

“Mama, I’m fine. I promise, just tired. Please try to relax, for me. I know it’s hard being here and seeing me like this, but it’s alright,” Alec said seriously as he moved his hand up to take hers. He folded her hand into his and kissed her fingers. Maryse nodded and let her hand rest in his while she willed her tears to stop. 

“I’m glad you’re feeling better, brother. We were worried about you,” Jace threw in from his spot on the couch with Clary. 

Alec looked over to him. “So I’ve heard. You all seem pretty good at that worrying business.” 

Magnus moved to sit at the end of his bed, giving Maryse and Izzy their space with him still. He ran his hand up and down Alec’s leg. “As I said before, darling-”

“Yeah, yeah. A husband can worry. I remember,” Alec cut him off with a smile. Magnus blew him a kiss from where he was sitting. 

“Ugh, you two are so mushy,” Jace responded with a sigh. Clary flicked his nose making everyone laugh. 

Magnus moved his gaze over to Jace. “My husband quite literally just had surgery. I feel as though our ‘mush’ as you call it is warranted.” He smirked when Jace stuck his tongue out him. “How mature of you, Jonathan.” Another round of laughs filled the room, especially at Jace’s disgusted reaction to his full name.

A knock on the door interrupted their conversation. “Mr. Lightwood-Bane, hello,” the surgeon said as she moved to sanitize her hands. 

“It’s doctor, actually,” Izzy threw in before Alec could respond. 

Alec nudged her with his elbow, “Isabelle,” he said in a stern voice.

“Of course, Dr. Lightwood-Bane, I wasn’t aware. My apologies,” the surgeon answered as she moved to pick up his chart from the end of the bed. 

“He’s a professor,” Maryse added with a proud voice and she patted his cheek. 

Alec blushed slightly and looked at her with the tiniest bit of an embarrassed glare. “Mama, please.” His voice was more of a whine this time, losing the fight. Magnus and Jace couldn’t help but laugh at him. 

Magnus decided in that moment that he would bring up a thought from earlier to see what reaction he would get. “He is a wonderful professor, he already has tenure,” Magnus said with a light tone as if it’s common knowledge. Alec’s eyes went wider than Magnus had ever seen them. Maryse and Jace’s jaws dropped to floor while Izzy was glaring lasers through Magnus’ forehead. 

The surgeon, of course unknowing of the reactions, responded while moving to check Alec’s vitals. “Wow, I saw that you are only thirty in your chart. That’s impressive to achieve that so young, congratulations.” 

“Thank you,” Alec choked out. After a few more awkward minutes, the surgeon finally finished her exam and told them a nurse would be in later on to refresh his bandages. Magnus thanked her and let the room settle until the door clicked shut again.


	5. Chapter 5

The room filled with so many voices that Alec couldn’t even process what was being said to him. Izzy was frantically apologizing for spilling his secret, Jace and Maryse were berating him for not telling them while Clary and Simon were trying to offer in their support and calm their partners. Magnus was standing at the end of his bed with his arms crossed over his chest clearly trying to hide his frustration with not finding out from Alec. 

“Why didn’t you tell me?! Dude, I’m your brother, we tell each other everything!” Jace yelled out as he paced the room. Clary tried to calm him down as Alec just ducked his head down so he wasn’t looking at anyone. 

“He didn’t tell anyone, Jace. I found out from Isabelle,” Magnus answered for Alec who clearly wasn’t going to say anything. Magnus couldn’t decide if he wanted to pout or wanted to lay beside Alec and talk it out. 

Jace threw his hands to his side and stared at Alec with wide eyes. Maryse’s expression was similar as she looked between Isabelle, Alec, and Magnus. “Seriously Alec, you didn’t even tell your husband?! I thought we were over this whole hiding your emotions shit.” 

“Enough, Jace!” Alec suddenly let out causing him to lurch forward with a hiss of pain as he cradled his side. Everyone moved towards him, but he waved them off, refusing to be comforted when he was upset. “Please, at least let me explain myself….damnit…” he said much quieter as he set his head back on the pillow and closed his eyes while taking some deep breaths. 

Alec felt a hand take his and a hand in his hair before his husband whispered an apology in his ear. Magnus pressed a kiss to his forehead and he heard a distance apology mumbled from his brother. “It’s okay, darling. I’m sure you have a good explanation.” Mumbled agreements came from around the room.

“I just...I wasn’t...I promise I was going to tell you all,” Alec admitted without making eye contact with anyone. He felt Magnus tighten the grip on his hand which motivated him to continue. Alec took a deep breath and steadied himself before launching into his story. “When I got the call about my position at NYU, Max was with me. We were eating lunch at my apartment and he was so excited for me. Max said he was certain I would get tenure and he made me promise that I would…” Alec had to pause as his breath hitched. He looked towards the ceiling to try and reign in his tears that threatened to spill over. 

Alec felt his mother’s grip on his hand ground him and her encouraging kiss to his fingers. He took another deep breath as he continued to look up at the ceiling, he couldn’t bear to look at his family yet. “I promised I would tell him when I got tenure first. Since I have been sick all week, I haven’t been able to visit the cemetery so I couldn’t tell you guys until I t-talked t-to M-Max…I couldn’t b-break m-my p-promise...” Alec’s voice cracked at the end as he brought his hand out of Magnus’ and Maryse’s grip to wipe the tears that had fallen. 

Maryse’s sniffles were the only thing being heard for a few moments before Magnus rested his forehead against Alec’s. “Breathe, darling, don’t cause yourself more pain. It’s okay.” Alec nodded against Magnus’ forehead and took some deep breaths while he still had his eyes closed. 

“A-Alec,” Jace choked out, his eyes filled with tears. “I’m sorry, I should’ve never yelled at you like that. I’m proud of you, we all are, especially Max.” 

Alec let out a tiny sob at his brother’s words and opened his eyes to look at Jace. He sent him a warm smile with a gentle nod, their silent sign of respect and love they’ve always shared. “I love you, all of you. I’m sorry you had to find out like this, but-”

“Hey, no, none of that. We are proud of you and you had the best reason not to tell us. All that matters is that you are healing and we love you, okay?” Magnus cut him off and looked around the room for support which was voiced by everyone. “I love you,” he whispered only to Alec with a kiss to his husband’s forehead. 

Alec took another relaxing breath and settled even farther into the bed. “I’m exhausted,” Alec mumbled causing everyone to laugh at the tension in the room being broken up. 

“I can imagine, sweetheart. You rest, we are going to eat and then we will come right back,” Maryse replied as she pressed a kiss to his cheek and offered to go grab some dinner with Clary and Jace. As they walked out, Magnus and Simon struck up a conversation in the doorway to give Isabelle and Alec a moment alone. 

“Big brother, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to tell Magnus and ruin all of this,” Izzy said with a watery voice. “Please forgive me.” 

“Iz, stop it. It’s not your fault, I don’t blame you for anything. I could have said something to you. If anything, I’m sorry for making this all more dramatic than it should have been,” Alec sighed.”

Izzy got up from her chair and sat beside Alec on the bed and took his hand. “First of all, you are the least dramatic person I’ve ever met. You have Magnus to be your drama,” Izzy said bringing a laugh out of her brother. “And secondly, I just want you to know that you are the best big brother anyone could ever have and I feel blessed everyday knowing that I’m the one that got you.” 

“Isabelle…” Alec whispered out, choked up with emotion. 

Izzy laid her head down on Alec’s shoulder and felt a kiss press into her hair. “I love you, Alec.”

“I love you too, baby sister.” Izzy moved away from his shoulder and pressed a lingering kiss to her brother’s forehead. “I will be back after we eat. I’m not leaving you for awhile, I hope you’re alright with having another roommate for awhile.” 

“I wouldn’t want you to be anywhere else,” Alec replied as she got up and wiped her tears from her cheeks. “Go eat, I’m about to fall asleep anyway.” Izzy gave his leg one more gentle squeeze before she took Simon’s hand and walked to the cafeteria. 

Magnus strided back over to the bed and curled into Alec’s good, left side. He was about to say something when Alec spoke first. “You know I was never trying to hide anything from you, right? I was never afraid to tell you, I always want you to know everything.” 

“I know, darling,” Magnus replied with a gentle kiss to Alec’s jaw. “And I also know that you are a man of your word, especially with your family so I am not upset at all. I do want you to know though that I am so incredibly proud of you for making tenure. And that I love you so much.” 

“Thank you, baby. I love you too,” Alec whispered back, his body relaxing more into Magnus’ side. 

“Sleep, sweetheart. You must be exhausted. I’m not going anywhere,” Magnus said back softly as he felt Alec snuggle further into his side. Magnus wrapped his arms around Alec and rubbed his side soothingly as he felt Alec nod back and quickly fall asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

“Okay, here are your discharge papers and a few extra sets of bandages. Remember that you need to stay at home for the next week, bed rest when necessary is recommended. You should only walk small amounts the first week, like going to the bathroom or between rooms. If you have any residual pain or soreness after a week, you need to extend the bed rest for another few days until you can walk around without pain,” Dr. Penhallow instructed Alec as Magnus gathered their things back into his bag. 

Alec nodded with a grimace at hearing bed rest knowing Magnus will enforce that with him and probably take time off work to stay home with him. “Of course, doctor. Thank you,” Magnus said in the the place of Alec’s lack of word response. The surgeon smiled at them both and let them know a nurse would bring them a wheelchair in a few minutes so they can leave. 

Alec immediately attempted to bargain with Magnus on the doctor’s orders to be quickly cut off by his husband. “You have never taken sick leave, sabbatical, vacation, anything so I know you have time to take. We are both going to stay home for two weeks so we can get cabin fever together and you will not even think of leaving the bed or couch for most of that time. Got it?” 

Magnus looked at Alec and waited for the only answer he would accept. Alec considered disagreeing for a few seconds before conceding to Magnus. “I guess it’d be nice to spend some uninterrupted time together even if I can’t move.” 

“I agree, darling. We can catch up on some movies and try some of those new recipes we’ve been looking at,” Magnus replied with a smile before leaning over to give Alec a kiss. 

“Yeah, okay, maybe it won’t be so bad,” Alec said back as the nurse came in with a wheelchair. She helped them get everything together and then let Magnus take over pushing Alec. Magnus helped him into the car and they headed out, however, Magnus turned the opposite way from their home. “Babe, we need to go left to get home.”

Magnus reached over and took Alec’s hand in his own. “Yes, we do, but we have to make a quick stop before we go home.” 

Alec hummed in confusion and let Magnus continue with his errand, resting his head back with his eyes closed during the drive. After some time passed, Alec felt the car turn off the main road and drive much slower than before. He cracked his eyes open to see the entrance of a cemetery. “Mags, what are you doing?” 

“Alexander, I know that spending two weeks at home without being able to come out here to see Max would have torn you up. You wouldn’t have been able to rest properly until you visited him,” Magnus answered softly as he put the car in park beside the Lightwood family section of the cemetery. 

“T-Thank you,” Alec whispered back as he looked over to Magnus with tears in his eyes. 

“Of course, darling. Now, do you want me to stay in the car or do you want me to help?” Magnus asked honestly even though he knew he should be insisting on helping his husband. 

Alec wiped a stray tear off with the back of his hand and smiled sheepishly at Magnus. “I don’t think I could do it on my own even if I wanted to.”

Magnus nodded with a smile while he shut the car off. He hopped out and came around the other side to help Alec out of the car slowly. He walked with his arm around his husband’s waist to support him until they stopped in front of Max’s gravestone. Alec was quiet, apparently searching his thoughts so Magnus spoke up first. “Hello dear, I’m sorry I missed Alexander’s last visit. Chairman was ill and you know how I am with that cat, I couldn’t leave him alone to suffer. And then Alexander was ill so I’ve been the caretaker lately. I’m doing much better now that my two boys are feeling well again. You know how stubborn this one can be.”

Alec chuckled softly which Magnus considered a win followed by a deep, settling breath. “Hey bud, sorry I haven’t been around much lately. Between work and my stupid appendix, I couldn’t make it out here. But work, seriously Max, you would hate my current freshman class, they have no concept of hard work. It’s like teaching sloths with short term memory loss, they don’t retain anything I tell them and they are so lazy.” 

Magnus cut him off with a laugh, “Oh, I like that one. You should tell that to their faces and see how that goes. Record it maybe.” 

Alec smiled at Magnus before turning back to the headstone. “Also, speaking of work, I’ve got some news, bud. I, uh...they gave me tenure, Max. I found about about a week ago and I promise I tried to keep up my end of the d-deal…” 

“Hey, it’s okay. You know that Max would never hold that against you, he would gladly blame Jace and Isabelle in an instant,” Magnus said lightheartedly while giving Alec a gentle, reassuring squeeze. “He is so proud of you, Alexander. We all are, don’t ever doubt that.”

Alec nodded and took a shaky step forward out of Magnus’ grip. He pressed a hand to his incision to support his side while placed his other hand on top of Max’s headstone. “I love you, bud. Thank you for always believing in me,” Alec whispered while one more tear slipped from his waterline. 

Magnus came back beside Alec and ushered him back to the car in silence, giving Alec time to process on his own. He looked out the window and the small New York Yankees flag next to Max’s grave flicker back and forth. There had been no breeze at all that day, yet the little banner waved enough for him to notice. Max’s way of saying ‘I love you’ back to him. 

Alec looked over to see Magnus smiling at him. “I love you,” Alec said after a few seconds of silence. 

“I love you too, darling. Now, let’s get you home to rest. I think you have more than completed your allotted amount of walking today already,” Magnus replied with a smile. 

“Yeah, I’m already feeling a little sore and my head still hurts,” Alec voiced honestly causing Magnus to reach over to grab his hand. 

“Okay, you can take some of your medicine when you get home. I believe your mother is already at the loft cooking dinner after Jace wrangled Isabelle out of the kitchen,” Magnus joked as he squeezed Alec’s hand and pulled it up to his lips for a kiss. 

Alec laughed softly to make sure he didn’t hurt his side. “Oh thank God, we can’t let Iz put me back in the hospital with her cooking.” 

Magnus and Alec both laughed as Magnus turned back onto the main road to drive home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be honest. I really didn't expect this fic to become chaptered at all when I started it. I really enjoyed taking it where it went and I like the little universe I created with them. Maybe a small extension in the future, but I love my two other AU series too much to start another!


End file.
